Goa: False tsunami siren prompted panic among the locals.

After 9 pm on Wednesday night, the Early Warning Dissemination System,  meant to warn tsunami, started blaring for nearly 20 minutes at Porvorium, Goa. Locals were panic stricken until officials clarified the alarm to be false.

“People were scared. The siren would go off in 10 minute intervals sparking fear among the residents of Porvorium. People were coming out of their homes, stopping their cars and trying to figure out what the alarm was saying”, said a local resident from Porvorium.

“We were on a walk after dinner when we heard the siren. Initially we panicked, but we soon realised that it could be a mock drill”, said local resident Avinash R.

Goa government is probing in to the issue on why and how the siren started on its own.

North Goa District Collector Mamu Hage said she directed the state Water Resources Department (WRD) to find out the reason for the incident.

“There are certain reports of siren alerting Early Warning Dissemination system at Porvorium of a tsunami alert. It is clarified that no such alert of tsunami is issued by the “Indian National Center for Ocean Information Services”, said North Goa District Disaster Authority.